


Snow and Roses

by whatthedubbs



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Catlad Tim, Alternate Universe - Seedling!Roy, Alternate Universe - Villains/Anti-Heros, But Roy was Speedy, I haven't decided, M/M, Made-Up Gotham Place Names, Multi, Rating May Change, Roy is Poison Ivy's Protege, Tim was never Robin, Tim's dad might not be dead yet, ongoing series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 12:11:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatthedubbs/pseuds/whatthedubbs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim was never Robin.  The YJ never rescue the original Roy Harper.  </p>
<p>Instead, Tim becomes Catwoman's apprentice, and Roy is discovered and taken in by Poison Ivy.</p>
<p>This is a series of drabbles and short stories about their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Leaping Greenly

**Author's Note:**

  * For [archerkink (runawaygirl)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/runawaygirl/gifts), [She5los](https://archiveofourown.org/users/She5los/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Catlad and Leafboy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/941898) by [archerkink (runawaygirl)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/runawaygirl/pseuds/archerkink). 



> As wonderful as this AU is, it's not originally mine. The original Catlad and Leafboy fic was written by archerkink (runawaygirl), and the AU is definitely entirely her genius in action. These are just ideas that popped into my head after reading her work.
> 
> Anyway, you should definitely go read that before you read this. It'll give some of the shorter chapters more depth.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're still dancing around each other in this one...

When Tim finally tracks Roy down it’s almost a month later, and Selina has (after much persuasion and the promise of access to WayneTech) moved in with Bruce.  Tim sort of did too, although he still spends a fair amount of time at the cradle (because the cats won’t feed themselves, kitten). 

Anyway, he finds Roy hanging out in Robertson Park, completely by accident on his way back from the computer shop he occasionally works at.  Roy isn’t doing anything nefarious or particularly attention-grabbing, but Tim’s been catching redheads out of the corner of his eye ever since that morning with the roses, so he notices the new gardener in the roses at the park’s southwest corner.

He takes a moment to just watch Roy working, to remind himself of the swell and play of the muscles in the man’s organic arm, and of the way he sticks his tongue out ever so slightly when he’s trying to use his powers without drawing attention.  He’s still the same as he was a month ago, although his skin is a slightly healthier shade of green now, obviously from the increased sun exposure he must be getting away from the darkness of the cradle.

Tim feels his mouth curling up into a smile as he carefully picks his way through the beds towards Roy’s position.  The roses turn their heads slowly as if observing him as he passes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this first chapter in like, ten minutes, because the idea came to me just before I had to go to class. There may come a point when it becomes a legitimate introduction to the AU as opposed to a fragment.


	2. Culture Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim bitches about many things. Especially where the Bats and their vigilante friends are concerned.

"I don’t know why I let Mamma talk me into these things,"

Tim scowls as he throws himself down on his bed next to Roy.  They’re at the cradle rather than the manor, mostly because Tim’s certain that bringing the former Speedy into any building containing Dick Grayson would only end in shouting, broken bones, and property damage.

"What things?"

"Take your pick," Tim sighs, gesturing at the figurative cloud of issues and annoyances that seem to follow him no matter what he does.  "Living with the goddamn _Bats,_ joining the Teen Titans, not booby-trapping my room so that Grayson won’t constantly check my room for contraband.  You name it.” 

Roy chuckles and slides his organic arm around Tim’s waist, pulling him up into Roy’s lap.

"Is Kory still in the Titans, or are they completely boring now?"

Tim ‘hmmm’s’ and leans back against Roy’s chest, tugging the man’s mechanical arm into his lap and producing a micro-screwdriver from nowhere. “She’s still there.  I didn’t get to meet her though.”  He glances back over his shoulder, looking for the slight tilt of Roy’s chin that means he’s allowed to start fooling around with his prosthesis.

Roy gives it.  “Was she out on a mission or something?”

"A date."  He can hear the scowl on Tim’s face.  "With _Dick.”_

"Really?"  Roy raises his eyebrows at the news.  He thought Kory had more taste, to be honest.  Although.  Dick’s _thighs…_

"Yeah."  Tim makes a frustrated sound.  "He was just like: ‘Hi, this is Stray, he used to be a cat-burglar, but Batman knocked his mentor up, so he’s going to be joining you guys for a while.  Okay, Imma go suck my girlfriend’s tits now bye.’" 

Roy snorts.  It’s not a bad impression of Dick’s air-headed-rich-boy voice.

"So it was super awkward, and everyone kept watching me like I was going to freaking steal their wallets or something.  Which, I mean, _come on!_   I moved on from wallets when I was _nine_ , Roy.   _Nine._ ”

Roy laughs, hooking his chin over Tim’s shoulder so he can watch what Tim’s doing to his arm.  “So what did you do?”

"What do you think?"  Tim asks, the corner of his mouth turning up as he gently tweaks a few of the fine-motor servos. "I gave them back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to do more with Tim and the Teen Titans at some point. It's just that I'm not sure how he fits in, considering his skill-set, which is quite different in this AU.


	3. Outlaws and Sirens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim is bored, the Titans aren't helpful, and Jason Todd is pretty persuasive.

Tim knows that Selina used to hang out with Pam and Harley.  That they used to actually be a _team_ of sorts.  The Sirens. 

Of course, that didn’t last pretty long, but he doesn’t think that’s any reason _not_ to try the team thing himself.  Just…not with the Titans.  He knows he doesn’t fit there.  For all that they’ve stopped looking at him sideways and making comments about his costume, their mission doesn’t mesh with his skill-set too frequently.

Tim’s not a fighter.  Never has been.  He’s a runner.  An escapee.  An _artist_. 

Sure, he’s good with computers, and he’s good at stealth.  But the team already has a fucking _cyborg_ , so it’s not like he’s needed for hacking.  And It’s got _Robin,_ so why would they need another stealth expert.  

He does a few missions with them, just to humor Selina, but he’s not really invested.  He bows out of a few missions, and quietly stops going.  They don’t bother calling him more than once.

 

* * *

 

But he gets _bored._

It’s not like he can go back to burglary now.  At least, not in Gotham.  He lives in _Batman’s_ house, after all.  The Bats know who he is.  They _don’t_ know his tricks, because he’s been very careful _not_ to let them know; but they’ve still got an advantage now that they didn’t have before.  And anyway, his old lifestyle doesn’t have the same draw without Selina.  Without Catwoman.  Without his _Mamma_.

So he bitches at Roy instead.

The lucky bastard.

Roy’s been working with Ivy again.  They’ve been terrorizing litterbugs in the parks downtown, and in the national park that lies about a mile west of Wayne Manor.  The Bats aren’t doing much to put an end to it, mainly because Selina pointed out that 1.) Nobody’s actually been _hurt_ in any of the attacks.  2.) Nothing has been _stolen._   And 3.) Alfred made a comment on how much nicer his stroll through the botanical gardens on 156th Street was now that he doesn’t have to pull trash out of the rose beds before he can enjoy their smell.

Tim’s almost joined them once or twice.  Almost.

The point is, he’s bored. 

And then Jason Todd comes back from the dead.

 

* * *

 

Jason, when Tim finally gets to meet him formally, is definitely not the same Jason he remembers from his early days in the catsuit. 

For starters, he’s a giant.  Like, _what even, how do people get that big.  Oh my god._   He’s also crazy.  And maybe a little obsessed with guns in a way that Tim _knows_ must have Bruce brooding more than ever.

 

* * *

 

Tim actually _meets_ Jason at a diner across the street from the park that he knows Roy’s going to be staking out that afternoon.  Tim is sitting in a booth with an excellent view across the street into the Japanese Gardens and drinking a strawberry shake when another person slides into the booth across from him.

Tim doesn’t bother turning to look.  He figures it’s Roy, since the former vigilante always seems to sense when Tim comes to watch him work.  He’s done this before. 

A slight grin tugs at the corners of Tim’s mouth.

"I don’t want to send you away, since you just got here, but I think that guy with the purple Mohawk just tossed his coffee cup into the wisteria," he says after a minute, turning to address Roy directly.

It isn’t Roy.

Not at all.

_Shitshitshitshitshit_ , his mind screams as he makes eye contact with the _definitely not green_ eyes that are narrowed at him across the table.  “Uh…”

The stranger smirks.  “Sorry _Kitten._ Leafboy’s _occupied_ at the moment.”

Tim forces himself not to flinch at the nickname.  _Fuck._

The stranger’s smile widens anyway.  “Know who I am, Kitten?”

_Play it cool,_ Tim coaches himself as he answers.  “Not really.  Care to refresh my memory?”

The stranger cocks an eyebrow as his smile becomes positively _gleeful_.  “Oh, I’m surprised you don’t remember playing with _this_ baby bird, Kitten,” he drawls, voice suddenly thick with the accent of Gotham’s street population, and Tim’s eyes widen.

_"Robin?"_

Jason Todd chuckles, perhaps a little louder than sounds completely appropriate.

"Call me Hood."

 

* * *

 

It turns out that Jason met Roy first.  They’d bonded over chasing a gang of drug dealers out of the arboretum on Penn Street.  And Roy had _happened_ to mention that his boyfriend was looking for something to do, and was almost as good with computers as Oracle.

Long story short, Tim ends up leaving the Manor and moving to New York with his boyfriend and a possibly psychopath.

And, after about a month, and alien princess.

 

* * *

 

Working with the Outlaws isn’t anything like working with the Titans.

For starters, there are a _lot_ fewer of them.  Like, just the four of them.  Which means that they’re _low profile_.  Tim missed being low profile.  

They operate out of a crappy apartment in Brooklyn that’s not really big enough for all of them.  Not after they’ve turned the spare rooms into a grow-lab, an armory, and a computer den respectively.

Tim gets used to sleeping on a bed with three other people.

Tim gets used to having _sex_ in a bed with three other people (two of whom are not participating).

It’s different from the Titans because it’s not just something to do on the weekends.  The Outlaws are 24/7, and he _likes_ it.

For the first time in almost two years, there are _heists._   Tim gets to try out all the high-tech gizmos he picked up here and there when he got dragged in to the Wayne Corporation offices by Dick.  He gets to hack security systems and crack safes and generally be a sassy little fucker to all the time like he used to be when he wore the catsuit.

That’s another thing that’s new.  His suit.  It’s made of the same sort of material as his old one, but this time without the cat accents.  It still makes Roy eye him like a flank steak, though.

 

* * *

 

It doesn’t take that long for the four of them to fall into bed together.  In the figurative sense, because of course they’ve already been falling into their _literal_ bed together for about four months.

Tim’s not exactly sure when things started, but it must have been sometime between that incident with the starfish and Superboy _finally_ figuring out who sold that pink kryptonite to Beast Boy.

 

* * *

 

Tim wakes up with his face mashed against Jason’s back and a single large hand (Roy’s) scratching through his hair.  There are vines and voluminous red hair twined around his limbs, and everything smells like _them_ and _sex_ and _warmth_ and _musk_ and _earth._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda always wanted Tim to be a part of the Outlaws. I feel like there are a lot of ways in which they'd be good for his psyche.
> 
> And because his moral compass in this AU is much more attuned to their MO than it is in canon.


	4. The Silver Lining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ALFRED!
> 
> You can’t have fiction about the Bats without Alfred. At least, you can’t really have fun with a BatFam AU without Alfred.

One of the few things that Tim doesn't regret about moving in with the Bats is Alfred.

Bruce is intimidating and overbearing. Dick is too exuberant to feel genuine. Jason's a ghost in the older Wayne family members' eyes. Damian is just rude. Cass is never there. Stephanie is all right but is always away, and he's never even met Oracle.

Tim remembers Alfred from when he was a kid and being dragged to dull parties by his parents (whenever they remembered to come home to see him). Alfred used to whisk Tim away from the cooing old ladies and awkwardly laughing businessmen and let him sit in the kitchen while Alfred put together cocktails and canapes. He'd even let Tim help if Tim asked nicely.

Now that he's older, Alfred doesn't save him from the harpies at the events that Bruce makes them go to, but he will hide Tim from the other Wayne children when Tim needs to get away. It's incredibly vindicating to hear Dick trying to talk his way into the kitchen while Tim's helping the Brit polish the silver (which, for the record, he would never even consider stealing. It's Alfred's).

But, most importantly, Alfred is the one that intervenes on Tim's behalf when it comes out that he's been dating Poison Ivy's protege for the last six months.

Tim isn't even sure how Bruce found out. It's not like Tim and Roy ever meet up in Gotham. They go to Philadelphia for dates, or Washington DC. Somewhere where Roy can walk around in short sleeves without having to worry about being arrested every time they pass a police officer. 

Bruce must have tailed him or bugged him, and Tim is furious.

"You get my mamma pregnant, you invite us into your home as members of your family, and then you bug me when I leave the house?" Tim hasn't shouted like that since that time one of Penguin's goons grazed Selina's arm in a shoot-out. "What the hell kind of parent are you? It was a fucking date, Bruce! I went of a date with the guy who used to be one of your allies!" Tim thinks he sees Bruce flinch at that last bit, but the Bat's face hardens a moment later.

"Used to be," he growls. "No anymore."

"And who's fault is that?" Tim inquires accusingly. "I'm sure it couldn't have been yours or Robin's, could it? You weren't responsible for looking for him when they found out that you'd been working with a clone. Why look for the original when you have his clone? At least the clone didn't piss you off!" Tim punctuates his words with a finger jabbed into Bruce's chest (it feels like he's poking a brick wall). "He works for Ivy because she gave a fuck when she found him in a fridge in Tibet. Who do you think paid for his prosthetic? Who came up with the treatment to keep him from dying when he came out of cryo? Was it you? No! It was Pamela-fucking-Isley! She saved his life, and-"

"Sirs?"

They both turn at the sound of the butler's quiet interruption. Alfred coughs politely.

"Master Bruce," he begins, his tone completely respectful but at the same time allowing for no argument. "While I am sure that your concerns for Master Timothy's well-being are genuine, I am equally certain that his relationship with Mr. Harper poses no danger to you or the rest of the family." 

Bruce closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Alfred-"

"Indeed sir, I would go so far as to say that there has been a distinct downturn in incidents involving Ms. Isley since they began their relationship."

"True, but-"

"And might I also point out that it would not be entirely wise to antagonize the protege of a woman who has been one of your fiance's closest friends for many years?"

Bruce's face goes pale.

 

Alfred turns to Tim, an indulgent smile almost rising to the surface as he beckons. "Now, Master Timothy had offered to help me with tonight's souffle. That is, if you are finished with your conversation?"

Bruce just nods, and Tim lets himself be ushered away by the butler.

"Thanks," he whispers, once he thinks they're out of earshot.

"No trouble at all, sir," the man's voice carries a touch of amusement. "It is not the first time I have had to come to the aid of one of Master Bruce's younger colleagues where affairs of the heart are concerned." He steers them both into the kitchen. "And I do greatly appreciate that compound that Mr, Harper whipped up for the roses. The beds on the south lawn have been doing much better of late thanks to his efforts. Please, do thank him for me when you see him next."

Tim smiles a little. "I'll be sure to tell him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't even try to tell me that Tim isn't Alfred's favorite. I will bite you.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this first chapter in like, ten minutes, because the idea came to me just before I had to go to class. There may come a point when it becomes a legitimate introduction to the AU as opposed to a fragment.


End file.
